The German director Werner Herzog is on location in the Amazon jungle for his latest film, Fitzcarraldo, and relates the central story. The main character Bryan Sweeney Fitzgerald, nicknamed Fitzcarraldo, embarks on a quest to build an opera house for the singer Enrico Caruso, in the jungle of Iquitos, Peru. He plans to finance the opera house with profits from the rubber industry, which was booming at the turn of the century. However, the land he buys is inaccessible due to strong rapids. When he discovers a second, navigable river nearby, he transports a steamship from one river to another, across a mountain ridge. The plan eventually fails when the Peruvian Indians untie the ship causing it to wreck among the rapids, but Herzog says that Fitzcarraldo does find some triumph in the experience. The character is inspired by the feat of a real-life rubber baron, Carlos Fermín Fitzcarraldo, who moved a ship across an isthmus, by taking it apart and reassembling it on the other side. In Nov 1979, after establishing a filming camp near the borders of Peru and Ecuador, Herzog found himself in the middle of conflicts between the military, settlers, the lumber and oil industries and suspicious Aguaruna Indians. Herzog promises the Indians that, unlike commercial interests, he would make as little impact as possible on the community and the endangered Amazon forests. The Aguarunas approve the filming, and agree to work as actors and crew, despite a local tribal council that rejects the project. Footage is captured of Herzog and his producer, Walter Saxer, reassuring the mother of an Aguaruna that they will protect her son, who is subject to death threats because he supports the filming. Herzog addresses the outrageous rumors about the filmmakers being rapists and torturers, and adds that two German troublemakers even showed photographs of Holocaust victims to the Indians, claiming Herzog was responsible for their deaths. With the threat of violence, Herzog and his film crew leave the camp, which is attacked on 1 Dec 1979 by armed Aguarunas. After 13 months of scouting, Herzog finds a new location, and filming begins Jan 1981 in Iquitos, a city along the river in Northern Peru. Herzog directs a party scene of Peruvian high society, set at the turn of the century. The performances of Jason Robards as Fitzcarraldo and Mick Jagger as the assistant Wilbur are highlighted with footage from three completed scenes. In a major setback, Robards must abandon the role after contacting amoebic dysentery, a story that makes headlines in The New York Times. The production is delayed six weeks while Herzog searches for a new lead. Jagger is unable to commit to reshoots because of prior commitments, and Herzog decides not to replace him. After the film’s investors are reassured, filming resumes in April 1981, when the German actor, Klaus Kinski, arrives to play Fitzcarraldo, marking his fourth collaboration with Herzog. In the river community of Belen, Kinski shoots scenes of Fitzcarraldo living among the local Indians and introducing them to opera. Standing in front of the rusty, inoperative steamship Nariño, Herzog describes its history, calling it a major character in the story. On the deck of the Nariño, Herzog directs the Italian movie star Claudia Cardinale, who plays a madam with access to Peru’s wealthy industrialists. Another old steamship, The Huallaga, is similar to the Nariño, but was completely rebuilt by the production in order to be the working boat. Herzog adds that they still need a third, look-alike boat to pull over the hill. Footage is shown of Indians constructing and repairing the boats. The production moves 1,500 miles south to the isolated jungle village of Rio Camisea in the eastern hills of the Andes, and the narration mentions that while some people question whether the re-location is really necessary, Herzog believes the primitive conditions will enhance the performances. The static of a radio is emphasized, representing the only means of communication with the outside world. Scenes are filmed of Fitzcarraldo and Don Aquilino, a businessman played by actor José Lewgoy, surveying the tapping and processing of rubber, deep in the jungle. Sometime later, a rainstorm raises the water level of the river for a few hours, encouraging Herzog to launch The Huallaga for filming, but the boat eventually runs aground. Meanwhile, Indian children are observed moving swiftly along in their homemade raft. In order to continue shooting, the film crew builds a mock-up of the boat, and Herzog directs a scene of Indians in canoes and rafts obstructing Fitzcarraldo’s river passage. It takes several days to complete the sequence because Herzog wants to film during the special light of “magic hour.” As images of the Campa Indians are shown, Herzog maintains that this is not an ethnographic project since he somewhat “stylizes” the native culture, but believes the film will capture an authenticity that is fading. In another threat to the production, Herzog reports that three people were seriously injured in a clash between local tribes. While a group of Indians working for the film travels upriver to investigate and prevent the trouble from escalating, Herzog tries to film the traditional game of arrow catching with the less skillful Indians who remain. The camp is divided between the native Indians and the foreigners, which Herzog believes is respectful, so as not to contaminate the local customs with Western culture, food and technology. Footage is shown of Herzog playing cards with his crew, followed by images of Indian women preparing the staple, alcoholic drink, masato, which entails spitting into the mixture. Fitzcarraldo must drink masato during a ceremonial toast, but before filming the scene, Kinski, fearful of the saliva, substitutes canned milk. The narration states that the Indians make $3.50 a day on the set, which Herzog claims is twice what they would earn for working in the fields, not to mention having legal title to their land after filming is complete. Herzog directs the scene of the Indians using machetes to clear a path up the hillside for Fitzcarraldo’s steamship. A bulldozer is shown trying to clear the actual path, but the ground is too soft and muddy, causing further delays. As a result, the Indians’ stay has been extended to 6 months, creating tensions among a community that is not accustomed to living in large groups together, and morale is low. Herzog discusses how to solve the problem with Father Mariano Gagnon, a local missionary. Kinski also complains about being “captured” within the tedious routine. Endorsed by the local priest, prostitutes reside in the camp, which Herzog says is a practical solution to distract the men from bothering women in the villages. In regards to the central metaphor of Fitzcarraldo, pulling a steamship over a hill, Herzog prefers to leave the 300 ton boat intact rather than disassemble it as the real Fitzcarraldo did. A Brazilian engineer advising Herzog on the operation eventually quits over safety concerns, believing there is a 70% chance of a catastrophic accident. Nonetheless, the crew films a scene of Fitzcarraldo supervising the pull and celebrating when the ship begins to move up the hill, but in reality, a coupling breaks and the boat slides backwards. Once again the production stalls, while cast, crew and investors grow restless. As shots of various exotic insects are shown, Herzog delivers a speech on the misery of nature, believing the jungle has cursed the production. Despite the setback at the hill, Herzog uses the replica boat to film a scene on the treacherous rapids of Pongo de Mainique, the setting where the Indians free the boat while Fitzcarraldo sleeps on board. With a gramophone prop on deck, the crew begins filming while the ship moves swiftly in the current and bangs against the rocky shore. The director of photography, Thomas Mauch, receives minor injuries during the shot. Then, the boat gets stuck on a sandbank and must wait to float until the next rainy season. When asked about his next project, Herzog says he shouldn’t make movies anymore. But, the narration concludes with a positive report that Herzog is eventually able to haul the boat to the top of the hill, thanks to a new engineering team, and in November 1981, filming of Fitzcarraldo is complete. Herzog provides a final and more hopeful thought about his ability to articulate dreams through filmmaking. An Indian artist photographs Herzog, and surrounds his picture with text and drawings of nature.